Glossary
Ale
Beer fermented with Saccharomyces cerevisiae, typically warm, which produces the esters and phenols that give ales more yeast-derived fruit and spice than lagers.
The modern distinction is about fermentation, not about colour, strength or bitterness. A pale, delicate Kölsch is an ale; a black, roasty Schwarzbier is a lager.
Historically the word meant something quite different: in medieval England ale was unhopped and beer was hopped, and the two were separately taxed and separately regarded. That distinction had collapsed by the eighteenth century.
Commonly misunderstood
"Ale" is often used to mean dark, strong or traditional beer. It names a fermentation family, and includes some of the palest and lightest beer made.
Related
- Lager — The other fermentation family.
- Top fermentation — The process it names.
More vocabulary
See every term on the glossary index.
Last reviewed 2026-08-16.